Well by now we’ve all heard that Vincent Jackson was suspended for the first 3 games of the season.  So now how does that affect our draft strategy? In my view it, shockingly, drops him to the middle of the draft at least.  Jackson started off hot last season, but then tapered off towards the end of the season.  His catches and yardage totals were still pretty good except for weeks 10, 12, and 13, but his TD catches are what took a real tumble.  And as any seasoned Fantasy Football vet knows that hurts big time.  It’s a shame he will be suspended those first few games as they play Kansas City, Jacksonville, and Seattle all of which have weaker defenses, especially weaker pass defenses.  He returns for Arizona, Oakland, and St. Louis.  Again, all pretty soft defenses.  Oakland may be the toughest, but Jackson had good success against the Raiders last year with 159 yards, 13 catches and 2 TDs.  So he comes back to a good situation.  It gets tougher through weeks 7, 8, and 9 then they have their bye.  I don’t normally like taking Jackson as he can be a bit inconsistent, but with the development of Philip Rivers and the loss of Tomlinson and the unknown rookie factor of their new running back it appears that the Charges are going to be more pass oriented.  Jackson’s numbers have gotten better over the last couple of years and I see no reason why this would end this year. 

The other detail to watch with this situation is his refusal to sign his tender offer.  This could keep him out until weeks 7 or 10.  This uncapped year is really screwing with players, their salaries, and their free agency status’.  AND it really messes us Fantasy Owners up.  The details are murky and it appears that these time frames all depend on how vindictive the team wants to be.  History has shown that the Chargers GM can be a bit player unfriendly.  So my bet would be Jackson would have to make a playing decision by week 7.  This will allow him to include this season as a full season under the current CBA (collective bargaining agreement).  He needs that to calculate his free agency status going forward.  If he hasn’t signed by your Draft day then DO NOT draft him.  Let him sit in Free Agency until later in the year.  Experience shows that you can ALWAYS find some new, hot receiver during the year if you are patient AND you pay attention to the waiver wires.  I highly doubt that his contract situation will be resolved by the time of your draft.  Personally I would stay away from him and his question marks until the contract situation is resolved.  When it is, then grab him if he’s available.  If the contract is resolved before your Draft, then you should be able to get him cheap (in an auction league), or in later rounds in a conventional draft.  If someone jumps up and grabs him early so be it.  There are plenty of quality receivers in this years Draft for you.  My key to Jackson is not so much his suspension as is his contact hold out.  That should determine what you should do with him. It will for me.